"Twice Born". Dionysus appeared on Olympus later than other gods. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, the beautiful Theban princess Semele. Zeus swore to her to fulfill any request - and now, at the instigation of Hera, Semele asked Zeus to appear before her in all the grandeur of the god of thunder. This request was thoughtless: when Zeus appeared in the roar of thunder and the brilliance of lightning, the fire engulfed the palace and Semele, who lived in it. A curious woman died, but she was soon to have a child, but could Zeus allow the death of his unborn son? He snatched the child out of the fire, and since the baby was too small and weak to live on his own, Zeus sewed him into his thigh. Dionysus got stronger in the body of his father and then was born a second time from the thigh of the Thunderer Zeus. Therefore, Dionysus was called "twice-born."

Dionysus brings his mother to Olympus. As for Semele, Dionysus, of course, could not accept the fact that his mother was in the kingdom of Hades. When he got a place on Olympus, he made a descent into the world of the dead. There he found Semele and brought her to Olympus, where she became a goddess and was revered under the name of Tion. Therefore, Dionysus himself was sometimes called Tionian - the son of Tion.

Dionysus is sheltered from Hera. After the new birth, Dionysus was transferred to the upbringing of King Athamas and his wife Ino, sister of Semele, with whom he lived for some time, disguised as a girl. However, even dressing up could not hide him from Hera, who was not satisfied with the death of Semele and transferred her hatred to her child. Hoping that Athamas would kill Dionysus, she sent madness on him. However, he killed only his son, mistaking him for a deer, and Dionysus was carried away from danger by Hermes.

Wanting to better hide Dionysus from persecution by Hera, Hermes took him to the nymphs on Mount Nisa (at the same time, so that Hera would not notice him, Dionysus was turned by Zeus into a kid). The Nisean nymphs settled Dionysus in a cool mountain grotto, looked after him, fed him honey. For this concern for his son, Zeus later placed the Nisean nymphs in the sky among the stars, where they can still be seen today in the form of the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus. And the child of Zeus, in memory of his stay on Nisa, received a name that consists of the name of the father (Dius, that is, Zeus) and the name of the place where he was brought up; that's how his name came about.

Dionysus makes drinks. It was on Nisa that Dionysus made his most important discovery - he learned how to make a drink that amuses the soul from grape juice. Therefore, when he grew up, he became a cheerful, powerful god of wine, which gives people strength and joy. Desiring to bestow his discovery on people, Dionysus went around almost the entire inhabited earth, teaching everywhere to grow grapes and make wine from it; and in those countries where grapes do not grow, Dionysus taught people to make another, no less fragrant, drink from barley - beer. [For this, in many countries where God made life more pleasant, he was awarded the highest honors.]

The first tragedy is because of the wines. The first person whom Dionysus treated to wine and taught him how to make it was a farmer from Attica named Icarius. He liked the drink, and he decided to introduce other people to it. It was then that the first tragedy happened. The shepherds, to whom Icarius brought wine, were delighted - they had never drunk anything like this, and therefore they drank too much of an unusual drink.

After getting drunk, they felt bad and thought that Icarius had poisoned them. They violently attacked him and killed him. Icarius had a daughter named Erigone. When her father did not return home, the girl went to look for him and, with the help of a faithful dog, found him - but dead. Erigona's grief was so great that she hanged herself from a tree over her father's body.

But Dionysus, who treated Icarius well, did not leave his death without revenge. He sent madness on the Athenian girls, and they began to commit suicide, as did Erigone. The inhabitants of Athens asked Apollo why the gods were angry with them, and received the answer that the reason for this was the murder of Icarius. Then the Athenians punished the murderous shepherds, and in memory of Erigona, at the festival in honor of Dionysus, the Athenian girls began to arrange swings on the trees and swing on them. And the gods placed the dead Ikaria and Erigone in the sky, and he became the constellation Arcturus, and she became the constellation Virgo. There was also a place in the sky for the faithful dog that helped Erigone in search of her father - this is now the star Sirius.

Bacchantes. In his wanderings Dionysus was accompanied by a crowd of admirers, not only men, but also women. In a wreath of grapes, he walked or rode a panther, and after him and around him in a violent dance rushed maenads (they are also called Bacchantes, because one of the names of Dionysus was the name Bacchus) - women who devoted themselves to the service of Dionysus. In their hands were thyrses - wands entwined with ivy, the same as those of Dionysus himself; they were dressed in deer skins and girded with strangled snakes. In holy madness, they crushed everything that came in their way. With cries of "Bacchus, Evoe!" they beat tympanums, with their hands tore apart the wild animals they came across, carved milk and honey out of the earth and rocks with their thyrsae, uprooted the trees they met. Their violent procession carried away all the people they met and was dedicated to Dionysus Bromius, that is, the "Noisy".

Satires. In addition to the maenads, Dionysus was accompanied everywhere by satyrs - creatures similar to humans, but with bodies covered with wool, goat legs, horns and horse tails. They were mischievous, crafty, always cheerful, often drunk; in life, except for wine and beautiful nymphs, they were not interested in anything. Accompanying Dionysus, they performed simple melodies on pipes and flutes, and the piercing sounds of this music reverberated around the neighborhood, announcing the approach of the merry god.

Old Silenus. In this noisy procession, which was called fias, the old man Silenus, the tutor of Dionysus, rides on a donkey. He is quite funny in appearance - bald, pot-bellied, snub-nosed, always sitting on a donkey. Silenus likes the drink invented by his pupil so much that no one has seen Silenus sober for a long time. However, he did not drink away his mind, and sometimes he suddenly utters words full of wisdom in a completely sober voice. Dionysus loves his tutor very much; at his command, satyrs constantly watch and care for him.

Midas. Despite these precautions, Silenus disappeared one day. When a forest bump fell under the donkey's feet, and he stumbled, Silenus fell from him, and remained lying in the roadside bushes. No one noticed this, and Silenus himself slept peacefully in the place where he fell off the donkey.

In the morning, the servants of King Midas found him and brought him to the palace. The king immediately understood who was in front of him, and therefore he surrounded him with all kinds of honor, let him sleep, and then helped him return to Dionysus. For this, God offered Midas to ask for any reward. He, not distinguished by a special mind and imagination, asked to make sure that everything he touches turned into gold. “I’m sorry, Midas, that you didn’t come up with anything better, but have your way!” With these words, Dionysus let Midas go home.

The king was beside himself with happiness. Still would! He will now become the richest man on earth! He broke a branch from a tree, and the branch in his hands became golden. Picked up a stone from the ground - and the stone turned into gold. But now the time has come for the king to dine. He took bread from the table - and that too became golden. Only now did Midas understand how terrible the gift of Dionysus was: all food turned into gold in his hands, and he was now threatened with starvation. Then Midas prayed to Dionysus, begging him to take his gift back, and Dionysus, not harboring malice towards him, agreed. He ordered him to go to the river Tmol and bathe in it, wash away the magic power from himself. Midas did just that, and after bathing he could safely touch anything - he no longer turned it into gold. And since then, people began to find golden sand in the Tmol River.

Case in Thebes. Beautiful and eternally young Dionysus; long, wavy blue-black hair falls on his shoulders, dark blue eyes shine. To the sounds of flutes and pipes, his procession-fiass moves from one country to another, and everywhere Dionysus teaches people to plant grapes and make wine from his heavy, ripe bunches. Not everyone and not everywhere liked it; sometimes they did not want to consider Dionysus a god, and then he brought down terrible punishments on the wicked. This is what happened, for example, in Thebes, in the homeland of Semele, the mother of Dionysus.

Semele had a sister, Agave. When she died, incinerated by the lightning of Zeus, Agave began to say that Semele died deservedly: she spread rumors that Zeus himself honored her with marital intercourse, and as punishment he destroyed her. The same was said by the son of Agave, Pentheus, who became the Theban king: there is no god Dionysus, all these are fictions of idle people. Then Dionysus himself decided to stand up for the honor of his mother. Taking the form of a beautiful young man, he appeared in Thebes and there infected Agave and other Theban women with Bacchic frenzy. With wild exclamations of "Bacchus, Evoe!" they rushed off into the mountains and there they began to lead the life of violent maenads.

Dionysus before Pentheus. Enraged, Pentheus ordered that a stranger be brought to him, from whom this disaster came. And here Dionysus, bound in chains, stands before the king. He smiles, watching how Pentheus rages, how, wanting to shackle his captive even more tightly, he ties a bull, which seems to him to be Dionysus, with strong bonds. Suddenly the whole palace shook, the columns staggered, and in the place where Semele had once died, a pillar of fire appeared, illuminating the whole palace with its radiance. Pentheus, seized with madness, thought that the palace was on fire and ordered water to be carried to extinguish the fire, and on Dionysus, so that he would not escape his revenge, he rushed with a drawn sword. It seemed to him that he had dealt a mortal blow to the stranger, but when he ran out of the palace, he again saw him surrounded by a crowd of Bacchantes.

God Dionysus

Pentheus becomes a victim of madness. More and more madness grips Pentheus. When a shepherd came from the mountains, who told about the way of life that the Bacchantes lead there, the king ordered the army to prepare for the campaign - all the Bacchantes will be captured by force and killed! The king himself decided, disguised as a woman, to personally look at them in the forest. However, when he came to the forest, the women noticed him.

Dionysus made it so that they did not understand that a man was in front of them, deciding that they were seeing a wild beast. The whole crowd attacked the unfortunate man and tore him to pieces. Agave, planting the head of Pentheus on her rod, entered the city with this prey, urging everyone to look at the head of the ferocious lion she had killed. When the madness passed and she realized what crime she had committed, Agave left her native city and died in a foreign land, and all the Thebans from now on had no doubt that Dionysus was a real god, and Semele was the wife of Zeus.

Dionysia.

Since Dionysus was associated with the cultivation of grapes, it is natural that the time of the holidays in his honor was largely associated with work in the vineyards. These works ended in December; at this time the feast of the Lesser Dionysius fell. It was a joyful celebration in honor of the god of wine and fun, full of fun and jokes. On this day, noisy processions went through the Greek villages, in which everyone participated - both men and women, both free and slaves. Those who participated in these processions carried sacred objects and symbols of Dionysus - vine branches and vessels with wine. At the temple of Dionysus, sacrifices were made, and then feasts and entertainment began. It was on this day that Icarius and Erigone were honored, on this day the youth indulged in a cheerful and noisy game: it was necessary to stay on one leg on an inflated leather bag, lubricated with oil. The winner received the same bag as a reward, but already filled with wine.

In February, another holiday was celebrated - Lenei, and soon after them - Anthesteria. According to tradition, it was customary to try young wine on the days of this holiday. At this time, vessels with wine were decorated with garlands of the first spring flowers; Children were also decorated with flowers, to whom it was customary to buy and give various toys on this day. Adults during this holiday organized competitions in drinking wine. The winner was the one who drank his cup faster.

But the main holiday in honor of Dionysus was the Great Dionysia, which was celebrated in late March - early April. It lasted a whole week and was celebrated with great pomp. But, perhaps, it is not this splendor that is more important for us, but the fact that the birth of the theater is connected with this holiday. Tragedy and comedy later arose from those scenes that their mummers played in the Dionysian processions. On the Great Dionysia, tragedies were played in theaters for four days, and comedies were staged in the theaters of ancient Greece on Leney.

Zeus was a very lustful god, so the jealous Hera had enough reason to live up to her name. Another lover of Zeus named Semele, being in a position from him, at the instigation of the jealous Hera, asks her desired one to come to her in full glory, and he, appearing in a flash of lightning, incinerates Semele with fire, having managed to snatch the baby out of the flame that was born ahead of time Dionysus, the future god of wine, nicknamed Bacchus (Bacchus in Latin). The cult of Dionysus subsequently spread throughout Greece. Bacchante women worshiped him with special passion, arranging wild orgies - bacchanalia.

In one of these bacchanalia, the bacchantes, distraught from drunkenness, tear off the head of the prophetic singer Orpheus, which, nailed by waves to the island of Lesbos, continues to prophesy. This is such a sad story.

Semele means "hops" in Arabic. What generates hops? The Arabic root BKH means "rudeness, rudeness, shamelessness." Who will argue against the fact that hops just give rise to the named state? But the root of the DNS means "evil spirits, vice, sin." In fact, the name of the god Dionysus contains a moral and even legal assessment of the state that occurs as a result of the immoderate use of drunkenness.

A legal assessment is not at all superfluous here, especially since the martyred Orpheus comes from the Arabic root ЪРФ "to know". To understand the name of Orpheus correctly, you need to read its first letter in Phoenician, Ain, then we get the Arabic root ЪRF or in the Phoenician inscription ORF "know, recognize, guess." Knowledge is what unbridled bacchantes kill during an orgy. As you can see, the ancient Greeks did not understand their myths at all, since they worshiped the potion in temples specially built for this purpose. Isn't this one of the reasons that the ancient Greek civilization without time has sunk into oblivion?

But why did the Bacchantes tear off the Greek sorcerer's head? Looking ahead, I will say that knowledge is of two types. Knowledge of woman and knowledge of Truth (God). The world-famous star of David (love) has nothing to do with the real Jewish king except that the Arabic tawaddud "love", derived from wudd "love", is consonant with the name of the king, which the Jews also translate as "love". This is the Star of Love. This six-pointed (!) star consists of two triangles, each of which points to one of the organs of love, the organs of knowledge. One - on the forehead, the other - on the pubis. At the same time, the star is a schematic diagram of two energy circuits operating in antiphase. When energy circulates in one circuit, the other is damped. Orpheus mainly worked with the upper circuit, which is why he could not satisfy the sexual harassment of drunken women. The head interfered. After all, either the head or the head works. Either a forehead or a member. Together it doesn't work well. Orpheus had to lose his head.


So, the severed head of Orpheus washed up on the island of Lesbos. Again, the question is appropriate, why to lesbians? Here's why. The name of the island of Lesbos comes from the addition of the Arabic las "a" to be close "and bi" sa "bad", "demonic", i.e. "demonic closeness" Devilish something demonic, but safe for the head. Their pursuits are not Dionysian drinking bouts accompanied by tragedies.

Dionysus was dedicated to special religious rituals with the participation of goats, in Greek tragos. The goats sang songs, the so-called tragedies. Modern scientists believe that the word tragedy comes from the name of goat songs. It seems, after all, that the tragedies are not from goat songs, but from alcohol abuse. As for the etymology of this word, it comes from the Arabic tarigat "trouble", "misfortune", "tragedy". This is not a borrowing from Greek, as my Arab opponents would say, but from the Arabic verb TRK (TRG) "to come unexpectedly." It is on this basis that a tragedy is called a tragedy, and not because the Greek actors dressed in goat skins before performing. On the contrary, the actors dressed in the skins of goats, since the Arabic origin of the word tragedy turned out to be consonant with the name of goats in ancient Greek. Well, there is no doubt that tragedies (not goats) are indeed the companions of the green serpent. And that circumstance is written out in Greek mythology with sufficient care. The tragedy happened not only with Orpheus.

Here is another tragic story. A certain Icarius received a bag of wine as a gift from Dionysus and took it to the shepherds to teach them winemaking, but they, drunk, killed our hero, suspecting that he had poisoned them. The story doesn't end there. The daughter of Icarius Erigon, having learned about the death of her father, hung herself with grief. The name of the father in Arabic means "drug": literally "taking away the legs", and the name of the daughter is consonant with the Arabic aragon "vodka", "araka". Here it is a tragedy - a companion of Dionysus.

The other companions of Dionysus were the Muses. There were nine sisters. Not very, at first glance, it is clear what they have in common with goats. What's the point in hanging out with them. But when you return to the original source, it turns out that the muses (in Arabic, muz) are goats. Goats and muses are from the evil one. Goats and goats are understandable to a hedgehog. Well, the number of muses is still the same number nine, the number of love. Inverted six. The word to hang out, bursting into our world from the youth language, actually comes from the Arabic ta: wu: s "pheasant". To hang out means "to pheasant", ie. "play mating games." In Arabic, this word means "beautify", "dress up". Ultimately, the word ascends through the Arabic sitt "six", "woman" to tis "nine". Tusovka - an element of the mechanism of reproduction, anyway, pheasants or people.

Not only the main characters of Greek myths have telling names. Even minor characters are deciphered in the same way. So, the nurse of Dionysus is called Rhoda, which in Arabic just means "nurse":. It is not by chance that his teacher Ino also bears a name that is consonant with both wine and wine.

It is curious that the names of many alcoholic beverages express either the ascertaining idea of ​​rudeness, rudeness, recorded in the nickname Bacchus, or the condemning idea of ​​guilt, vice, recorded in the name Dionysus. Judge for yourself. Here are the meanings of Arabic roots, consonant with the names of alcoholic beverages. VDR "dirt, evil spirits" (vodyara, vodka). VSH "dirt, evil spirits" (whiskey). JNY - "to commit a criminal offense" (gin), which is the best suited as a qualification for the deeds of the Bacchantes. GRH - "to commit sin." Regarding the root GRH, it is important to note that the Arabic X8, as we have seen many times, can be read as the Russian I8, so that the root gives both vodka (GRH) and bitter (GRH). Rum goes back to the Arabic word hara:m "sin", in which the first guttural fell along with its vowel, and the long A, which in other languages ​​​​(Hebrew, Persian and even in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic) is pronounced as O, and here gave O Even our moonshine only at first glance seems to be uninvolved in the regularity described here. The SMG root is almost a complete synonym for the VKH root. Samigon is an Arabic word meaning "ham, rude". This may seem incredible, since in the Russian mind the name of home-made vodka appears as a strictly motivated word. No one doubts that moonshine is called so because they drive it themselves. This is a homemade drink. Such an understanding became possible because the first part of the word turned out to be consonant with the Russian sam (the Arabic equivalent is ysa:mi "independent"). After that, there was nothing left but to ascribe to the rest of the rut the meaning of making alcohol. This is how the Russian word persecution appeared, which in Arabic again means "to commit a crime" (of the same root as gin). You can't get away from the truth, no matter how you disguise yourself.

An example of a sophisticated disguise of vice behind good-natured words is the word alcohol, associated with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bbreathing. Things have gone so far that even the Arabs call alcoholic drinks spiritual. Spiritual, so to speak, food. When compared with Arabic roots, it turns out that in the case of alcohol, we have a false tracing paper from Arabic. It's just that someone confused gin in Arabic, ginny "gin, spirit" (or ginshsh, where genius comes from - the root. GNN) with the root GNI "criminal offense", which is spelled exactly the same as gin "spirit". As a result, it was not a green serpent, an evil criminal, a hardened killer, a recidivist felon, who got out of the bottle, but a kind genius, a sorcerer, a magician, a talkative old man Hottabych (“KhTB - “to speak”), who passes off visions of delirium tremens for wonderful magic . At the same time, pay attention to what we call the state of complete mental confusion: delirium tremens, not black, or some kind of blue one, namely white, like white magic. The fact that this condition is called fever is understandable. This is a translation of Arabic, khumma "fever, fever, delirium", but, as we have already found out, turned into delirium tremens in Russian. Let me remind you that one has only to read the vowel E in Arabic (this is how the Arabs depict the letter 'ayin :), as the word bel turns into BYL "head". From the same root dunce, which in Arabic means "bad head" and blockhead literally: "weak head" and bulldozer, which in Arabic means "fool". It is clear that the whiteness in the name of this terrible disease appeared in Russian in order to at least whitewash the disease of the head called "head fever". Agree that this is still a disease of the head. Agree also that we found ourselves in a much more confused state than the ancient Greeks, whose problem concerned only the names of the vice, the vice itself appeared before them in the descriptions of ancient authors in the nude. In ancient Greek tragedies - frank atrocities and death, in our fairy tales - the same heroes, but already in fine masks, work good miracles, introducing into the children's subconscious the poisonous idea of ​​the harmlessness of Semele's descendants.

The god of fertility, winemaking and vegetation Dionysus is one of the most controversial inhabitants of Olympus. A charming young man jokes a lot and amuses others. Laughter and joy accompany the youngest son. But it is worth disobeying or offending a careless young man, and rivers of blood will spill onto the earth. Dionysus does not forgive misdeeds and does not listen to the arguments of reason. Wild dances and bloody spectacles do not suit a beautiful deity!

History of creation

The Greek god of viticulture took his own place in the pantheon of gods rather late compared to the rest of the famous characters. The cult of Dionysus came to Greece from the Thracian or Asia Minor territory. The first mention of an unusual god dates back to the 14th century BC - the name of Dionysus is imprinted on the tablets of the Cretan script.

For a long time, Greek mythology belittled the status of the patron saint of winemakers and fruit trees. The cult developed only in the 7th century AD. Initially relaxed and uninhibited worship of Dionysus turned into a frenzy. wrote:

"At first he was simple but cheerful, but later his festivities became more and more noisy and unbridled."

Night holidays, which the inhabitants of Greece dedicated to the charming god, turned into awesome spectacles. In small towns, priestesses of the cult dressed in animal skins and ate raw meat, glorifying the name of Dionysus.


The cultural centers of Greece have kept the original message of the festivities. The Feasts of the Great Dionysius took place at the end of March. Singers and actors chosen by the people dressed in goatskins and acted out dramatic and comedic skits. For such events, special theaters of Dionysus were built. One of these architectural wonders is still located on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis.

The Greeks believed that the gift of Dionysus, called wine, gives inspiration to creative people. Therefore, artists often painted portraits and genre scenes in which God participated. The patron of vegetation was depicted as a young and attractive young man, surrounded by satyrs and priestesses of the cult. At least Dionysus was painted as an adult man with a thick beard and luxurious curls. But in any case, the god of winemaking is accompanied by a cheerful crowd.

Dionysus in mythology


The birth of Dionysus is shrouded in mystery and speculation. The parents of a handsome young man are Zeus and the daughter of the king of Thebes, Semele. The Lord of Olympus, once again captivated by the beauty of a young girl, often visited the princess. A new hobby did not hide from the wife of the Thunderer.

The insidious appeared before her mistress and invited Semele to find out what Zeus really looks like. The interested girl persuaded her beloved to appear before her in his true form. The majestic god did not refuse. As a result, the chambers of Semele caught fire, and the princess began premature birth. To save the weak newborn, Zeus sewed his son into his own thigh. After a couple of months, Dionysus got stronger and was born a second time.


This outcome did not suit Hera. A jealous woman pursued the boy, wanting to get rid of the baby. But, knowing the nature of his wife, Zeus assigned to Dionysus, who always managed to save the child. In the end, the son of the Thunderer was given to be raised by the goddess Cybele, who was not inferior in power to Hera (according to other sources, God gave the child to the nymphs).

A little matured boy, unexpectedly for his relatives, made friends with a satyr named Ampelius. The old bully often talked with the little god and spent a lot of time playing with the bored Dionysus. Such an unusual friendship ended sadly - Ampelius died from the horns of a bull. Young Dionysus tried to resurrect his friend, but all the measures taken did not help. The body of the satyr turned into a vine, the frustrated young man squeezed the juice from the fruit, and called the resulting liquid wine.


The young and carefree god went on a journey around the world. Wherever Dionysus came, grapes ripened around him. The journey of the youngest son of Zeus lasted three years. God even visited India and descended into the Kingdom of the Dead, from where he took his own mother.

True, such a procession caused a lot of trouble for the inhabitants of Greece. Together with wine, Dionysus gave people madness. Being in a drunken delirium, the inhabitants of the cities committed massacres. Those who did not recognize the god in the young man, Dionysus killed with his own hands. Many women were torn to pieces by worshipers and subordinate deities.

The young man often walked the Earth, accompanied by friends, his retinue is numerous. Dionysus is surrounded by satyrs (goat-legged demons of fertility) and maenads (priestesses and worshipers of God). With great pleasure, Silenus, the teacher of Dionysus, accompanies his ward.


During one of these walks, an attractive young man was noticed by sea robbers. While the retinue of the young god was resting, the villains stole Dionysus and delivered the young man to the ship. One of the crew members, seeing that the chains with which the robbers bound the prey, did not hold on to the hands of the young man, was frightened. The man asked to let the stranger go, claiming that God was in front of them.

The robbers did not believe their brother in arms. And Dionysus, turning into a lion, tore the captain of the ship to pieces. The young man turned the remaining members of the team into dolphins. The only one who did not suffer was a shrewd bandit who stood up for the young god.


The beauty could not resist the charm of the patron saint of winemakers. The woman for some time was in a secret love affair with a cheerful deity. The fruit of love was the god of fields and gardens Priapus.

Prior to his marriage, Dionysus often entered into relationships with specific women. In the love victories of God, Avra ​​is listed. The daughter of a titan gave birth to twins from a man, one of which she ate. The second, fortunately, was saved.

Despite the windiness and love of fun, Dionysus turned out to be a good husband. She became the wife of the god of winemaking, famous for her skein of thread. After parting with her lover, the girl suffered from grief. Passing by, Dionysus lost his head from the beauty of the princess of Crete. The young god immediately took possession of a new acquaintance, and a little later he married a girl.


Rumor has it that Theseus did not plan to leave his beloved. But at night, the brave hero dreamed of Dionysus, who ordered the young man to leave the girl, since Ariadne should go to God. Married to Dionysus, the girl gave birth to a son, Foant. After the daughter of the king of Crete became immortal - such a gift was made by Zeus to his beloved son.

  1. The meaning of the name of the deity is consecrated by the god. In ancient Roman mythology, the god is called Vachus (or Bacchus). And the nickname of Dionysus is the god with bull horns (the man liked to transform into a bull).
  2. Myths claim that among the love victories of Dionysus, Hermaphrodite is also listed - the son of Hermes and Aphrodite.
  3. The most recognizable and famous image of the deity is a sculpture called "Bacchus". The monument depicts a drunk god of winemaking accompanied by a satyr.

"Bacchus"

The cheerful and cheerful god Dionysus was especially popular with the ancient Greeks. Holidays dedicated to him were celebrated from late autumn to spring. Often they had the character of mysteries, and even more often they smoothly flowed into banal orgies.

Appearance of Dionysus

God Dionysus was born from the union of an immortal and an earthly woman. Once Zeus the Thunderer could not resist the beauty of the daughter of the Theban king, Semele. Being in a romantic mood, he promised his passion to fulfill any of her requests. He swore by the sacred waters of the underground river Styx that he would fulfill the will of Semele, no matter what it was.

Heard about Semele Hera. The eyes of the immortal inhabitant of Olympus flashed with rage. She appeared to Semele and ordered:

Ask Zeus to appear before you in all the glory of the god of thunder, the ruler of Olympus. If he really loves you, he will not refuse this smallness.

Semele did not dare to oppose the order of Hera and turned to Zeus with this request. Zeus, sworn by the waters of the river Styx, had no choice. The father of the gods appeared before Semele in all the splendor of the ruler of the immortals and people, all in the splendor of his glory. And lightning flashed in his hands. The palace of the Theban king shuddered from the blows of thunder. Everything around flared up, ignited by the lightning of the ruler of Olympus. The flames rushed through the palace, absorbing everything in its path, the walls shook, stone slabs cracked.

With a cry, Semele fell to the ground, engulfed in flames. Her request, inspired by the wife of Zeus, ruined her. A dying Theban princess had a son, weak, incapable of life. He should have died in the flames of the fire, but the divine blood saved him. As if by magic, thick ivy stretched out from the ground towards him from all sides, sheltering the unfortunate boy from the fire, thereby saving his life.

The Thunderer picked up the saved son, but, seeing that he was so weak and small that he was clearly doomed to death, then, according to legend, he sewed him into his thigh. After spending some time in the body of his parent, Dionysus was born a second time, strengthened and strong.

Then Zeus the Thunderer commanded the fleet-footed Hermes to take the little son to Ino, the sister of the Theban princess Semele, and her husband, the ruler of Orchomenus, punishing him to raise the child.

Hera pursued Dionysus for a long time, considering him neither equal to the gods nor worthy of this honor. Her anger fell on Ino and her husband Atamant for taking under her roof the child of an earthly woman hated by her. For Atamant, Hera chose madness as a punishment.

In a fit of madness, the ruler of Orchomenus kills his own son Learchus. Ino, with her second child, miraculously manages to escape. The husband, who had lost his mind, pursued her and almost overtook her - at a steep, rocky seashore.

Ino had no salvation - the insane husband overtakes behind, in front - the deep sea. The woman chose the element, throwing herself with her son into the sea water with a desperate jerk. However, she did not die. The beautiful Nereids took her and her son into the sea. The tutor of Dionysus and Melikert, her son, were converted into deities of the sea and have remained there ever since.

Hermes, who rushed to the rescue, saved Dionysus from the distraught Atamant. Faster than the wind, he rushed him to the Nisei Valley, entrusting the care of the nymphs.

The god of wine and fun grew up beautiful and powerful. He walks, sharing strength and joy with people. And the nymphs who raised Dionysus were placed in the starry sky as a reward. They appeared on one beautiful dark night among other constellations in the form of Hyades.

Greedy king

One of the most famous stories about Dionysus is the legend of Midas. The noisy Dionysus wandered with his numerous retinue into the wooded rocks of Phrygia. Only Silenus, his wise teacher, was absent. Quite intoxicated, he wandered, stumbling through the Phrygian meadows. The peasants noticed him, easily tied him up and took him to the ruler Midas. The king recognized the teacher of the god of wine and received him with all honor, arranging sumptuous feasts for nine days. On the tenth day, the king personally accompanied Silenus to Dionysus. The god of wine and fun was delighted and graciously offered Midas to choose any gift for the honor rendered to the teacher as a reward.

The king asked that everything he did not touch turn into gold. Dionysus narrowed his eyes, complained that Midas had not come up with a better reward for himself, and did as he asked.

Happy, the greedy Midas departed. He goes, plucking the leaves from the trees, and they turn into gold, touches the ears of corn in the fields, even the grains in them become golden. He touches an apple - and it shines like a fruit from the garden of the Hesperides.

Even the drops of water running down his arms turned golden. He came to his palace, overflowing with joyful excitement. They served him a sumptuous dinner. And then the greedy king Midas realized what a terrible gift he had asked the god of wine. Everything turned to gold at his touch - which means Midas was waiting hungry. He prayed to Dionysus, begging him to take back such a gift.

Dionysus did not refuse him, allegedly as a warning, appeared before him and taught him how to get rid of the "golden" touch. The king went at the behest of God to the sources of the river Paktol. Clear waters delivered him from the gift, taking it into themselves.

Cult of Dionysus

Eternally young Dionysus, (Bacchus or Bacchus) in Greek mythology of the fruitful forces of the earth, viticulture and winemaking. For the fact that he loved to turn into a mighty bull, he became known as "the god with bull horns."

The god of wine and fun, in a wreath of grapes and with a thyrsus adorned with ivy, travels the world in the company of maenads, satyrs and seleniums, revealing to people the secret of winemaking. Delighted and grateful, the Greeks staged lavish "Dionysia" or bacchanalia in his honor.

Over time, the theater came from the Dionysius, and from the laudatory hymns in honor of the god of wine - dithyrambs, performed by singers dressed in the skins of goats, the word "tragedy" appeared from τράγος - "goat" and ᾠδή, ōdè - "song". The philosopher of antiquity, Aristotle, pointed out that the tragedy was originally playful, performed by a choir of satyrs, goat-legged companions of Dionysus, and acquired its gloomy shade later.

The god of wine and fun, Dionysus, was praised as bringing liberation from care and weakening the fetters of a measured life and life, so the procession of this god of Ancient Greece was of an ecstatic character. Maenads and Bacchantes danced indefatigably, the satyrs raged wildly and laughed. The noisy retinue of Dionysus, girded with snakes, destroyed everything in its path, drinking the blood of torn wild animals and dragging crowds of mortals behind them.

Some researchers are trying to prove that the cult of the god of wine was of eastern origin, and in ancient Greece became popular much later than the cults of other deities, and could establish itself with some difficulty.

The name of Dionysus comes across already on the tablets of the Cretan linear script dating from about the 14th century BC, but the heyday of his cult falls only on the 7th-8th centuries of our era. By this time, the god of wine and fun began to displace other gods from the pedestals of popularity.

The god of wine and fun also did not immediately get into the number of twelve Olympians. However, then he began to be revered on a par with Apollo at Delphi. In Attica, dionysia began to be held with poetic competitions. During the Hellenistic period, the cult of the god Dionysus absorbed (or was absorbed) the cult of the Phrygian god Sabazios, receiving a new permanent name for himself - Sabazios.

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    God of wine and fun Dionysus

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    The cheerful and cheerful god Dionysus was especially popular with the ancient Greeks. Holidays dedicated to him were celebrated from late autumn to spring. Often they had the character of mysteries, and even more often they smoothly flowed into banal orgies. The Emergence of Dionysus God Dionysus was born from the union of an immortal and an earthly woman. Once Zeus the Thunderer could not resist the beauty of his daughter...

Dionysus is the god of harvest, winemaking and wine, ritual madness and fertility, theater and religious ecstasy.

Wine occupied an important part in Greek culture, so Dionysus was the favorite god of the inhabitants.

The origins of the cult of Dionysus have not yet been determined. Some historians tend to think that the cult of the god came from the east, others say that the origins of the cult come from the south, from Ethiopia.

Dionysus was one of the twelve Olympian gods; he was born from a mere mortal. Large-scale holidays (mysteries) dedicated to Dionysus, with songs, dances and wine, are considered the progenitors of the theater.

In the earliest Greek artifacts, Dionysus is depicted as a mature man with a beard and clothes. He usually had a staff with him. A little later, images began to appear with a naked, young Dionysus, combining the functions of the male and female principles (hermaphrodite).

Usually the god is accompanied by maenads and satyrs with erect penises, the whole procession has fun, dances and performs some kind of musical work. The god himself often sits in a chariot drawn by tigers and lions.

Dionysus is associated with the protector of all those who have been expelled or not recognized by society, so the god is associated with some kind of chaotic and dangerous force, the use of which can lead to unexpected consequences (it is quite possible that this was due to the action of wine).

He is also known as Bacchus (Bacchus) in the Roman tradition, and the mysteries dedicated to the god were called bacchanalia.

According to legend, wine, music and dancing free a person from worldly worries, fear and sadness, and also give strength.

The cult of Dionysus is also connected with the underworld: his maenads feed the dead with special offerings, and the god himself acts as an intermediary between the living and the dead.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was also conceived by a mortal woman, Semele. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was enraged to learn that the supreme god was again inflamed with passion for an ordinary woman.

Reincarnated as an ordinary mortal, Hera convinced the pregnant Semele that she was carrying the son of Zeus the Thunderer himself. A woman, succumbing to doubts, once asked Zeus to prove her greatness to her. The supreme god refused the woman, because he knew that mortals could not bear the manifestation of his supreme power.

However, Semele was persistent, and Zeus proved his divine nature, spewing thunders of lightning, shaking the earth around. Semele could not stand this action and died on the spot.

Frustrated, Zeus saved his unborn son by sewing him into his thigh. A few months later, Dionysus was born on Mount Pramnos on the island of Ikaria, where Zeus hid the child from the all-seeing Hera.

In the Cretan version of the story of the birth of Dionysus, which belongs to the pen of Diodorus Siculus, the god is the son of Zeus and Persephone.

The name of Hera is also found here: according to legend, she sends the titans to the infant Dionysus to tear him to pieces. However, the all-powerful Zeus saves the boy.

Childhood and youth of Dionysus

According to the myth, Hermes took care of Dionysus in infancy. According to another version, Hermes gave the boy to be raised by King Atamas and his wife Ino, the aunt of Dionysus. Hermes wanted the couple to hide Dionysus from the wrath of Hera. There is another story: as if Dionysus was brought up by nymphs.

When Dionysus grew up, he discovered that a wonderful juice can be extracted from the vine, which has amazing properties.

Doomed the young god to madness, and he had to wander around the world. However, he found like-minded people and taught them how to make wine.

Dionysus was in Spain, Ethiopia,. From these wanderings, a legend was born that this is how wine literally conquered the whole world.

Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. One of the Homeric hymns tells how, disguised as a mortal sitting on the coast, several sailors noticed him and assumed that he was a prince.

The fishermen wanted to steal him and sail away, asking for a large ransom for God. However, Dionysus turned into a lion and killed everyone on the ship.

Dionysus in mythology

The name of Dionysus is also associated with the myth of King Midas. Once, having discovered that his mentor, the wise Silenus, had disappeared, God unexpectedly found him visiting King Midas. For the return of his beloved teacher, Dionysus offered the king to fulfill his every wish.

The greedy king deigned that everything he touched turned into gold. Dionysus complied with his request.

However, soon the king realized that food, water, and the people he touches become golden. The king begged Dionysus to return everything to normal, he was ready to give up his desire.

God had mercy: Midas plunged into the river Paktol, and the spell was lifted. Dionysus is also mentioned in the myths about Pentheus, Lycurgus, Ampelus and others.